belief in polytheism. It has, however, been confirmed, and rendered more distinct, by the christian revelation. Whatever might have been the doubts and wanderings of the speculative minds of antiquity, on this great fundamental topic, no inhabitant of a christian land (whether religious or not) professes to doubt, that he stands in the presence of an inspecting Deity. Christianity has rent the veil from the "temple" of "all space," and has discovered its God, pervading, and animating, and guiding the universe.

Paradoxical as it may seem, it is, however, true, that, while there are few principles or maxims which are more generally acceded to in theory, there are few of which there is less of a practical conviction in society. Because God is an unseen being, and every where our senses are occupied with limited and material objects, which cannot truly represent a pure and infinite spirit; because the scriptures, and common opinion, represent him as existing in heaven, which our imaginations refer to a distant part of the universe; we naturally and insensibly forget that he is, in presence, near us, and a close witness of our words, actions, and even thoughts. When our minds are brought to the question, we are ready to acknowledge that he is thus present; but, while engaged in the varied business and pursuits of life, we do not feel the proximity of the Deity, as we do that of any perceptible being.

It is important to believe, that this difficulty is not an insuperable one; that this natural frailty of the mind, by which the insensible and abstruse is overpowered and eclipsed by the sensible and the imaginable, is not a necessary one; but may be corrected by a discipline of the mind. There is really no more impracticability in the

to us,

constant sense of the presence of an unseen and incomprehensible God, than in a vivid imagination of the people and customs of past ages, known only from the page of history; or of the scenes of distant and unvisited places of the world, brought to us only by the testimony of others: and, by habituating ourselves to the frequent contemplation of God, as present, and actually communing with our minds, we may acquire as strong a sense of his nearness as of any other person who may be in our company. We need not, indeed, be always thinking of God; for this is impossible; and, if possible, would unfit us for every other mental occupation; but, as we do not see, or constantly think of all the human beings who may be at any time in the same room with us, while engaged in any absorbing occupation, and yet are under an inattentive impression of their presence, which operates upon and restrains us; so we may retain a similar impression of the presence of the unseen Deity, which, while equally disregarded, may be as strong and influential in the one case, as in the other.

The importance of this permanent impression of divine presence, kept alive by a frequent recurrence to, and communion with him, will be apparent from the effects which flow from it; which we proceed to enumerate.

In the first place, this sense of the presence of God will produce a devout reverence towards him.-A feeling of awe must necessarily overshadow the mind which perceives itself placed under the inspection of a being so pure, so holy, so transcendant as God. To him who acknowledges, and delights in the parental character of God, this will not be a painful sensation; for he feels himself reposing on the arm, and watched by the eye, of the ten

derest compassion and benevolence: but all indecorous levity and capriciousness of manners, all passionate or profane language, all falsehood, and every immorality of conduct, must necessarily be rebuked by the frowning eye, the sacred presence of so majestic a being. The fear of his displeasure, the desire of his approbation, to which few minds could be insensible, while contemplating his character and presence, would induce a vigilant circumspection, which, becoming a habit of the mind, would be a most powerful aid of every virtue, the strongest barrier against every vice.

But it is not only the external character and manners, which are thus affected by a vivid sense of the presence of God; for, if we believe in his omniscience, we consider him as inspecting the inmost thoughts and motives, as well as the actions and words of his human creatures; and before this conviction, every deceptive design, every selfish, unworthy motive, every impure, licentious imagination, must fly in consternation. An humble, anxious self-examination and self-correction will be instituted, which will not cease its sanctifying progress, until the heart is purged from its secret corruptions, and rendered a fit temple for its immortal resident. Thus purified at the root, every branch of the character exhibits purity. Deception and hypocrisy, the most arduous tasks which man imposes on himself, are no longer necessary. Virtue is the spontaneous, unforced expression of the sanctified and exalted soul.

Again, from a strong and constant sense of the divine presence, springs the love of God, the fundamental precept of the gospel of Christ.-Attachment to all beings capable of producing it, is strengthened by intimacy with

them. For the great and good of ages long past, or the worthy inhabitants of remote regions of the earth, good will, esteem, benevolence, may be indeed felt; but it is the daily companions of the table and the fireside, the depositories of our secret counsels and opinions, the participators in our fortunes and our labors, to whom the heart is bound with cords of affection which cannot be ruptured without the destruction of all our happiness : and, if this love, when directed to the Supreme Being, is to be carried (as required by the gospel) to a height paramount to all human attachments, and cultivated to a strength which is to absorb and employ the whole power of the mind, it can only be effected by such a conviction of constant proximity and intimate communion with him, as will supply an ever ready object to the cravings of this importunate passion. Love languishes in the absence of its object. Place the Divinity at an immeasurable dis tance, and, whatever of reverence, and fear, and admiration may be maintained, the sacred fire of love cannot be kept alive. Let him be our constant companion, and the heart may be impelled towards him with an impetus unceasing and unlimited.

Another effect of the habitual sense of divine presence, and one which alone would make it worthy of our strongest efforts to cultivate it, is the consolation it imparts in hours of affliction. Be the calamity what it may,-whether sickness, or poverty, or loss of friends, wealth, or reputation, or any other of the numerous ills to which we are all daily subject, we have a rock of support in the presence, and the accredited aid and sympathy, of a being who never changes, and from whom we cannot part. Even that worst of evils, the consciousness of sin, and re

morse for its commission,-painful as it may render the knowledge of divine inspection,-finds, ultimately, its greatest relief in this very tenet; for what could be expected from the supposed absence or indifference of God, but a continuation of sin, and the misery derived from it? To whom shall the tortured mind fly for aid, and pardon, and deliverance? It is to God, considered as present and interested; who knows the struggles of the soul with guilt; on whom it relies for forgiveness, and promised assistance, and effectual repentance, and hope, and happiness.

To the innocent sorrows of life, so thickly spread over its path, the consciousness of divine presence is of inestimable worth. The desolate soul, borne down by grief, or disappointment, or pain, or privation, looks up, with a cheering hope and confidence, which all the power, and wealth, and knowledge of the earth cannot afford, to an omniscient Parent, believed to be an unseen witness of every sigh; confided in as tender and merciful; who permits no evil but for ultimate good: and thus the dark valley of adversity is overcast and illuminated by the bright cloud of holy resignation.

In like manner, the presence of God heightens every enjoyment.-Life wears an entirely new aspect, when animated by the view of its Maker. It is no longer that thorny and barren path, where every pleasure is so fleeting and unsatisfactory; every companion so frail; every prospect so uncertain. A perfect, all-knowing guide conducts our way. In his society, the restless mind finds a complete gratification for its most ardent desires, its sublimest aspirations; and the blessings of the world derive a new value from the consideration, that he is the present giver; and, when deprived of the possession, or cloyed